Title favorites Aces and Liberty set to meet in WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

Title favorites Aces and Liberty set to meet in WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final The New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces are living up to the preseason WNBA hype and will meet for the first time with a championship on the line when they play for the Commissioner’s Cup title on Tuesday night.The budding rivals were predicted to win the WNBA title before the season tipped off and have loftier aspirations of taking home that trophy. The first-place Aces won both the Commissioner’s Cup and the WNBA title last season and wouldn’t mind double-dipping again this year.Each member of the winning team will receive around $30,000. Players on the losing squad each gets about $10,000. “It’s an opportunity to build chemistry, but also win money. It’s a big game, but we couldn’t focus on it ’til now,” New York’s Breanna Stewart said after Sunday’s win over Indiana.Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot agreed.“The money is big,” said Vandersloot, who lost in the Cup final last season to Las Vegas. “It definitely adds an extra incentive to the game.”An extra $30,0...

New Nebraska coach Matt Rhule wants to win now, but he promises to take no shortcuts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

New Nebraska coach Matt Rhule wants to win now, but he promises to take no shortcuts LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Make no mistake, Matt Rhule wants to win and win often in his first season at Nebraska.The Cornhuskers’ new coach also understands where the team sits in 2023, and he’s taken the program down to the studs with the hope of building it back into the respected national brand it was a generation ago.“When I think about Nebraska, I just think about that helmet,” Rhule said of the Huskers’ classic white and red headgear. “It’s iconic to me, and it is across college football.”Rhule said Nebraska — winners of five national championships but none since 1997 — should be in the national discussion year in and year out, and for the right reasons. Talk about Nebraska in recent years has centered on coach Scott Frost’s spectacular failure over four-plus seasons. The Huskers are coming off six straight losing seasons with no bowl appearances. There’s been no Top 25 ranking since 2019, 10 seasons without an appearance in a conference champion...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts higher ahead of big week for retailers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts higher ahead of big week for retailers NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting higher Monday ahead of a week of reports showing how strong U.S. shoppers remain, amid hopes their spending can keep the economy out of a recession.The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in afternoon trading after flipping an early loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 7 points, or less than 0.1%, at 35,290, as of 1:19 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.U.S. Steel jumped to one of the market’s bigger gains, up 33%. It said over the weekend that it rejected a buyout offer from Cleveland-Cliffs and that it’s heard multiple offers.Cleveland-Cliffs rose 10% after it said it offered more than $7 billion in cash and stock for the steelmaker and that it’s ready to move on the offer immediately.On the losing end of Wall Street was Nikola, which sank 6.7%. The zero-emission truck company recalled more than 200 of its electric vehicles after an investigation indicated a problem with a component in the battery pack could be the caus...

Downtown Kingston pedestrian counts hit a record high at Princess Street Promenade

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

Downtown Kingston pedestrian counts hit a record high at Princess Street Promenade Downtown Kingston’s downtown pedestrian counts hit a record high this weekend with over 8,000 pedestrians passing the intersection of King Street and Princess Street during Princess Street Promenade.Since January 2022, foot traffic downtown has been electronically monitored via laser counter at the intersection of King Street and Princess Street and used as a data point for the Downtown Kingston Business Improvement Area (BIA). This past weekend, with the street closed to traffic for the Princess Street Promenade, the count was a record high in nearly two years.This second 2023 edition of Princess Street Promenade overtaking Princess Street had over 100 businesses and community groups set up along the street. A long section of Princess Street was converted into a walkway and visitors were able to explore what Kingston has to offer in music, restaurants, and retail.“Although it’s not an accurate reflection of how many attended the event in total, it gives us a good idea of what...

You can now be caught speeding by photo radar in Aurora

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

You can now be caught speeding by photo radar in Aurora DENVER (KDVR) — Watch your speed. Beginning Monday, the Aurora Police Department will issue citations for drivers caught speeding through a photo enforcement program.The transition follows a 30-day warning period. However, the warning has ended and drivers will start receiving fines if they are caught speeding 11 mph over the posted limit. Did you know you could get caught speeding by an aircraft? According to the Aurora Police Department, trained officers will be deployed in residential neighborhoods where the speed limit is 35 mph or less. These include school and work zones, and streets that border a municipal park.Officers will be in marked police cars that are equipped with Lidar - Light Detection and Ranging - technology. Warning signs will be posted reminding drivers that photo radar is in use.Aurora Police said the department launched the program in response to the rise in crash-related deaths. Since 2019, annual crash deaths have increased by 18% across the U.S. and by 28...

Nathaniel Rateliff's holiday show tickets start at $25

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

Nathaniel Rateliff's holiday show tickets start at $25 DENVER (KDVR) — Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats will be back at Ball Arena for their 19th Annual Holiday Show, and tickets start at just $25.The band will be joined by Mt. Joy and Jaime Wyatt. The holiday show will be on Friday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. Full list of concerts at Ball Arena for 2023 The holiday show supports local organizations. This year, money will be raised for the Harm Reduction Action Center and EarthLinks, two Denver organizations Nathaniel Rateliff and his Marigold Project are passionate about.In 2022, the show raised $100,000 that went to various organizations.Rateliff is based out of Denver and has been a staple in the music scene since 2015. His band Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats have become quite the force in contemporary rock 'n' roll. "Since 2015, Rateliff has led his denim-clad, horn-flanked Night Sweats, supplying the zeal of a whiskey-chugging Pentecostal preacher to songs about this world’s shared woes," said AEG.How to get tickets to the...

From hungry rats to exploding tires: The German government’s got a problem with planes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

From hungry rats to exploding tires: The German government’s got a problem with planes Cracked windows, faulty radios and cables chewed by rats — the German government’s track record of sending its top officials on diplomatic trips by plane is, at best, patchy.On Monday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was the latest unfortunate German minister to fall foul of plane problems. Baerbock was stranded in Abu Dhabi due to her plane having a broken landing flap. As a result, her visit to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji is now up in the air — unlike German government planes!“No joke. First a government plane, then a broken bus. You can’t make this stuff up,” journalist Patrick Diekmann wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the airport bus also stopped working. Baerbock is just the latest in a long line of German officials to have encountered embarrassing technical difficulties when trying to board a government plane. Here are some more recent examples. Cracks in the windshield In June, Siemtje Möller — state secretary at the d...

UBS to pay $1.4 billion for selling toxic mortgages prior to the Great Recession

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

UBS to pay $1.4 billion for selling toxic mortgages prior to the Great Recession New York (CNN) — The Justice Department announced on Monday that UBS has agreed to pay $1.4 billion in penalties for allegedly defrauding investors by selling mortgage-backed securities that blew up during the Great Recession.The settlement resolves the final case brought by the DOJ to investigate the role of Wall Street firms in the 2008 financial crisis.“The substantial civil penalty in this case serves as a warning to other players in the financial markets who seek to unlawfully profit through fraud that we will hold them accountable no matter how long it takes,” Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.The DOJ filed a civil action in November 2018 against UBS, alleging the Wall Street bank defrauded investors by knowingly making false and misleading statements to buyers of dozens of residential mortgage-backed securities issued in 2006 and 2007.“UBS’ conduct in this case played a significant role in causing a financial crisis th...

Tractor-trailer rollover crash closes ramps between I-495 southbound and Route 44 in Middleborough

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

Tractor-trailer rollover crash closes ramps between I-495 southbound and Route 44 in Middleborough Both the on- and off-ramps between Route 44 and I-495 south in Middleborough were closed to traffic Monday after authorities say a tractor-trailer truck crashed and rolled over.Massachusetts State Police spokesperson Dave Procopio said the crash left both the truck’s driver injured and fuel leaking onto the roadway.Emergency crews could be seen responding to the crash around 1:15 p.m., where the truck’s cargo appeared to spill over the entirety of one of the ramps.Procopio said the truck appeared to have been carrying trash and that it was not clear when the ramps would reopen to traffic.Details on the exact condition of the driver have not yet been released.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.https://twitter.com/MassDOT/status/1691146272554496000?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Pentagon: Active duty forces yet to be deployed to avoid logistical issues. Follow live updates

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:37:36 GMT

Pentagon: Active duty forces yet to be deployed to avoid logistical issues. Follow live updates By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii this week, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.The U.S. National Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Coast Guard are assisting with recovery efforts in the communities reeling from fires in Maui, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Monday.However, no active duty forced are involved yet, Ryder said. That raises questions as to why not — Hawaii is home to tens of thousands of active duty military personnel, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and major Navy and Air Force installations, with ships and aircraft that could assist in flying in supplies or personnel.Ryder said those forces are ready to provide whatever support is...